[movingon37]

Hello.

This week I was informed that I am being transferred to another division in the company that I work for. I currently live in Denver, CO and am being told that I need to either move to Connecticut or Boston or no longer be employed. I'm used to being moved around due to my career path (6 moves in 9 years) but have no knowledge of the state of Connecticut.

I have been told that I can live anywhere in Connecticut that I want, but am not familiar with it at all. I'm curious as to what areas one might recommend for someone like me whom is single, in her mid 30's, has no children, works from home when she isn't traveling for work, will be traveling a lot between Boston, Connecticut and NY for work, enjoys the city lifestyle, but has no problem living on the outskirts of a city in a quaint town where things are a little more calm but can still commute into a metro area? My new manager suggested West Hartford and Meriden, but I have no idea about what either are like. I believe she recommended those 2 locations due to them being a halfway point between Boston and NYC, but am not completely sure about that.


Thanks in advance for any insight provided to me!

[Silli]

It's so hard to recommend based on the small amount of information a person can give in a short message. It sounds as if you would prefer to be close to a city with some entertainment and activity, but are far enough along in your career that you are not interested in "roughing it" in an "emerging" neighborhood. Therefore the suggestion of West Hartford is a good one. You will be very close to restaurants and business opportunities in Hartford, and will also enjoy the shopping and community of West Hartford. Meriden is convenient from a highway perspective, but the downside of being halfway between NY and Boston is that you are far from both, and Meriden doesn't have much more to recommend it.
If you want a more urban environment, you might want to check out New Haven. Another consideration is that if you choose to live in New Haven or Fairfield County, not only will you be close to NYC but should your job situation ever change you will be near one of the largest employment centers in the US and won't be forced to move immediately to find another position.
I've lived in Boston, Hartford, and FF county, and personally I prefer CT over MA because it has a more sophisticated NY feel, while in the Boston area the main thing is to wear your ski parka to the bar. But I can't say which you would prefer. MA and CT are not that different.

[movingon37]

Silli,
Thanks for the response. You are right, I have no desire to "rough it". I actually have no desire to live directly in the city center, but prefer to be within a 10-20 minute drive of it. My last 2 moves have been easy due to me finding the kind of area that I like pretty easily. Right now, I live about 10 minutes from downtown Denver and live in a cool little community that is very busy during the week but quite at night and on the weekends. It has great restaurants, easy access to shopping, entertainment, parks, running trails, is safe, with a nice mixture of singles and families. I'm trying to find that kind of environment and it sort of sounds like West Hartford, New Haven, or Fairfield County might be more to my liking. Thanks for the advice!

[nico7]

Moving37,
You have so many good options in CT for what you're describing. Being single, will you be trying to meet someone? Also, what is your targeted price range? Personally, I believe West Hartford, Fairfield, Stamford, and New Haven would be the best towns/cities for you to consider. If you want to live outside of the city center, there are nice neighborhoods in all of those towns -- and the neighboring towns (and suburbs, in the case of New Haven) are good options.

You would get more for your money in New Haven County or West Hartford than, for instance, Fairfield or Stamford.

[movingon37]

nico7,
Yes, I want to be in an area in which I can meet people in general to hang out with and possibly meet someone special. It's a little harder for me being in my later 30's to meet people of the same age whom share the same calmer interest as I. I don't fit in with the hip 20 somethings nor the married with kids crowd. I guess it all comes down to quality of life for me. I want to live in an area that is accessible to all of the things that I mentioned in my above post, as well as an area in which I won't be socially isolated and allows me access to a great workout facility, tennis courts, golf club, pilates/yoga facilities, great shopping, good coffee, and good restaurants. I know all cities have those offerings, but I look for a little more upscale environments for those areas that are important interests of mine. As far as my housing budget, I am looking to rent a condo, home, or apt for at least a year, so my rental housing budget price is going to be anywhere from $1200 to $2000 a month.

Thanks for your response!

[nico7]

In that case, I would check out Stamford (most expensive), West Hartford, and Branford. Stamford has a lot of professionals in their 30's, and many nice neighborhoods, plus proximity to NYC. West Hartford has a great town center with a lot to do, many excellent neighborhoods and some nice apartments, and it's very central with respect to NYC, CT, and Boston. Branford will give you more for your money, and will offer easy access to cultural attractions as well as the shoreline, and it's close to the intersection of I-95 and I-91.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by Silli

I've lived in Boston, Hartford, and FF county, and personally I prefer CT over MA because it has a more sophisticated NY feel, while in the Boston area the main thing is to wear your ski parka to the bar. But I can't say which you would prefer. MA and CT are not that different.

Though of the two I'd be much more biased to NY vs. Boston (besides that the Red Sox are there, ugh! ) at the same time I'd hardly say "wearing your ski parka to the bar" is all there is to Boston. I've been to the city many times and it has a great culture and nightlife, and it many ways seemed to be a "scaled down NY" (or perhaps a "big New Haven") to me, a lot of similar things to offer for a single person but without all the intensity and stress of Manhattan. In fact not counting metro NY which I've probably lived in 98+% of my life, it's probably my favorite US big city.

Actually, I'd go for the halfway point and live in West Hartford (there's a whole semi-recent thread on Meridan, avoid it like the plague). I think you'd actually like it there and it's not TOO hard to make an occasional road trip to both NY and Boston. Good luck!

[JayCT]

I agree that West Hartford would be a good choice to live half way between Boston and New York. It has many of the things you are looking for and is very charming. I would think that you boss only mentioned Meriden for geographic purposes since it is not like what you are looking for. Meriden is centrally located but it is an old mill city that has seen better days. I would however suggest checking out nearby Middletown which has a neat downtown area with a lot of nice shops and restaurants as well as Wesleyan University. It is also centrally located so you could be in Boston or New York quickly. Good luck with you move. Jay

[movingon37]

Thanks so much to all of you for your responses! The information provided to me is definitely helpful. I'm now leaning more toward living in Connecticut than living in Boston, which is different than what I orignally thought. Most of my peers at the company that I work for have been adamantly saying that I should live in Boston, but I'm starting to disagree with them. I'm going to be spending a lot of time in Boston and NYC for work and think it would be nice to live in an area in which I can have some space from my job which can easily become a nightmare. I am originally from the southern part of the US and actually appreciate a little slower, more peaceful, and quite existance when I am not going 900 miles an hour for my job. I get plenty of excitement in my professional life and am working really hard to not carry it over to my personal life anymore. West Hartford is definitely looking like the right area for me. I am going to research Middletown today. I have a couple of more questions that I need some guidance on. Thanks in advance for anyone whom can answer these for me!

House Hunting (Rental):
I went on-line searching for rentals in West Hartford. Does anyone have any suggestions for real estate agengies that also focus on rentals in West Hartford? I would actually like to find a small house or even condo that has a small yard or patio to rent. I'm sort of over Apartment living but am not ruling it out. I'm on a tight schedule with this move. They are wanting me to be out for a house hunting trip in 3 weeks and completely moved by mid April.....can we say....stressful!

Airports:
Is Bradley International Airport the airport closest to West Hartford?


Thanks again for all of the advice that has been given thus far!

[KH02]

Yes, Bradley is the closest airport to West Hartford.
I like the airport a lot, it's a smaller airport then the big hubs are so they tend to process people really quickly.

You can call any agent whom will show you rentals in the area. Any agency out of Hartford County I'm sure would be able to help you.
Search Craigslist for listings through individuals and search realtor.com for any current listings on the MLS.